Shelby

Once again I'm envious of your tomatoes. Remind me to ask you where that market is Makes me want a big bowl of 'mater soup!

I don't think I've made these since I posted mine up-thread. I have a head of cabbage languishing in the fridge as we speak. Might be dinner tonight!

It's a mixture of sea salt and sanding sugar.

This recipe for homemade "condensed milk" which has no liquid in it works as a substitute for a small can of liquid condensed milk? Yes? Your link led me to another link, another sub for condensed milk. Amazing. I guess I have to try these. Thanks Shelby. Yes! Sorry, I should have made myself more clear. I just subbed that recipe for what was called for in the fudge recipe--now who knows if it was the right amount, but it worked. Also, thank you so much for your compliment up above I guarantee you'll like the margarita cookies.

Kim--You are too sweet! I don't pipe well...you should see the rejects that I "had" to eat along the way. OMG you have to try this pretzel fudge . I've never made good fudge in my life until this recipe. I didn't put the whole pretzels in...I just used a bunch of crushed ones. Also, I had already started making it when I realized I didn't have any sweetened condensed milk (sigh). As you know, I can't just run to the store, so I made my own. It worked really well!

I'm in the "keep the fat in there" club!

I'd give my right arm for some sushi.

Yes! I love it!

I'm sorry, but you are dead wrong here. I agree. I have spent a lifetime of study in the area. "Calories in versus calories out" is too simplistic. I know many women who have sustained significant weight loss for years and they have had to recognize that they are not like "normal" people. They have to be constantly vigilant and eat far fewer calories than one would expect. They exercise and are nutrition savvy. Many will tell you their "full switch" is broken. If you look at our topic Cooking for Weight Loss, an underlying theme is decreased starchy carbs and vastly increased vegetables. Many many of the nutrition plans touted as break-throughs in the recent years basically mimic that. What kills the deal and screws up the stats is that it is not a short term solution- it has to be, for most, continued forever. I saw the news hype about the article and just thought "well duh". There is nothing simple or easy about weight loss if one wants to maintain the loss for a lifetime. Yes! I've said that since, well, forever. My husband eats a teeny tiny bit and says "I'm full". Not me. I can eat twice what he does--I try not to, but I could. I will go to my grave swearing that my brain doesn't make enough of what ever chemical tells the stomach it's full.

I got one for Christmas, too! I was so excited to try it. Got it put together and it didn't work. Fiddled with it forever only to realize the dang canister was empty! Grrrrrr....... So, I ordered 2 online and they are supposed to be here today. I get 2 cases of THIS every month from Amazon. Free shipping and I LOVE the stuff. In fact, I'm OUT--I drank more than 2 cases over the holidays--and I'm the only one that drinks it lol. Anyway, I'm hoping the SodaStream tastes just as good as these canned ones do. Oh, and along with the canister being empty, one of the flavor packs it came with--the diet cola--had exploded in the box making a big fat mess.

I don't think I've ever seen him clean a deer in gloves. It wasn't especially cold that day, but when it's really cold, cleaning a deer warms your hands up nicely--even though it's messy. If you click here it takes you to the part of my blog where we begin cutting up a deer. Yes, it's just like a steer or cow. Me too. You know, we didn't this time, but I have in the past. When you get four or five deer a season, the livers get difficult to figure out something to do with....and I don't like to freeze them. I need some ideas for liver usage. My husband is going deer hunting again this week so maybe I'll have him save a liver for us.

Oh good! And I bet your gluten free rolls were more than just passable. Thank you so much for the link to your blog and recipe! I'm enjoying reading. Your granddaughter is just such a doll! I'm going to reduce my carbs for a few months (going to try anyway) so I'll be without my favorite (pasta) for a while, too.

Please explain. This sounds useful. Wondra is a superfine flour that is sold in a canister. It thickens quickly without a raw taste and doesn't need to be mixed with cold water like cornstarch. It also doesn't turn glossy. Ohhhhh I love Wondra. Makes the best gravy.

This one is a "she", though. We don't save the skin. I think a long time ago my husband tried to tan one himself....I also think one of our dogs ate it lol so that never happened again. You're right. Someone could make wonderful mocassins--along with other things, I'm sure. LOL I'll watch the news to see if you attempted a hunt! Thanks for looking.

I have black eyed peas soaking as I type. I don't have any greens--which sends me into a sort of panic because I need good luck and money.

Happy New Year, everyone! I made a ton of cookies this holiday season (and no, I haven't rescued the failed fudge attempt yet, but I swear I will--if it's still good in the fridge that I desperately need to clean out ) I made: Dark chocolate cookies (really soft and squishy good--husband's favorite) Russian Wedding cookies Margarita cookies (I loved these--I got the recipe off of Smitten Kitchen) Sugar cookies (good recipe this year they stayed nice and soft) Oatmeal raisin (another from Smitten Kitchen--delish--I don't like raisins except for in these cookies) Coconut almond macaroons Pretzel fudge (really good with sea salt on top) Here's a few pictures: I got a snow globe cookie cutter--so much fun! Dark chocolate Margarita

Beautiful food, as always, everyone! KayB--I'm sorry to hear about the celiac disease....can you cheat once in a while and not have any problems? I hope so because those rolls are a thing of epic drooling for me. I've never made my own rolls and if I did, they wouldn't look like that! Scotty! Finally out of the parents place and into your own!! Congratulations!! I'd love to see pictures of the place--'course I'd like to come and eat and see it in person, but pictures will have to do for now. I haven't taken many food pictures lately--been busy--as all of us have been, but here's a few. Last night we made a prime rib--I got a meat thermometer for Christmas (finally) so I was excited to use it. I read the looooong threads here about the best ways to do a prime rib. I settled on 500 degrees for about 20 minutes and then I shut the oven off and took it out after about an hour when the temp. reached 105. After resting for about 30 mins the temp rose to 125. The meat turned out perfect for me--I'm a RARE girl....really rare....like still mooing lol. But, the roast itself was tough. I don't think it was a great cut of meat, but it was tasty and it'll be great sliced thinly for sandwiches. Venison burgers with mac and cheese--we spent a day grinding meat for hamburger and sausage. It smelled so good that we had to have fresh burgers that night!

And, there ya go! From here, they put the doe in the back of the truck, bring it home and hang it in the garage. Then, they skin it and cut pieces into more manageable sizes and I bring them inside to do the carving of the different cuts. That part is in my blog in my signature if anyone missed it last year.

After I did my food blog last year, many of you asked for a more in-depth look at the way we clean a deer after it's been shot. My husband and his hunting buddy graciously took pictures of this doe for me so I could show ya'll how we do it here in Kansas. These pics were taken the first week of December during the two week doe/buck season we have here. There is another season that begins today that is for does only. There are a lot of photos and since I can only upload so many at a time, this will be continued. Please feel free to ask any questions --if I don't know the answer, then I'm sure my husband does.

Who knew I'd see this phrase on EG.

Oh YEAH on the Lawry's--I also love their lemon pepper. I also gotta add that I will do without beans if they aren't Rancho Gordo. I've even gotten my mom and mother-in-law on the band wagon.

I'm in the butter club.

I'm sure my macaron assortment box is in the mail, right??? Right???? Beautiful, just beautiful!

I have enough gift certificates to Amazon to buy half a sous vide machine.....that's a big purchase for me and I'm not sure about it. I need to study up to see which brand is the best. Or maybe I'll chicken out lol.